by David Chapman
Staff Writer
At one point in her life, the business side of business bored Jan Korb to sleep.
After all, the CEO of BroadBased Communications is an admitted creative person and staring at financial numbers on a page instead of a design or logo just wasn’t appealing.
But, in the nearly 14 years of running the marketing, communications and public relations firm on the Northbank, she’s learned — with the help of her “financial quarterback” (certified public accountants) — to excel and loves keeping tabs on the books while still maintaining that creative and client-focused edge.
It’s led to multiple moves and expansions for BroadBased 4.0 as she affectionately calls it — including the latest at the beginning of the year to the 18th floor of the Riverplace Tower, where her staff of 10 (including two interns) help meet the needs of businesses through a wide array of services.
“I always wanted to start my own business by the time I was 32,” she said. “I made it with six months to spare.”
Korb hasn’t looked back since and attributes her success — even during turbulent economic times — to dedicated planning and slow calculated growth along with a continued focus on personal and hasty service.
The biggest challenge is ever-changing and one neither she nor anyone else will be able to stop learning.
“Technology,” she said. “It changes on a daily basis ... I’ve never seen an industry change so rapidly as this one because of it.”
From Twitter to Facebook and everything between, though, Korb knows her stuff and teaches clients about each and how technology can both help and hurt their business.
While Korb would love nothing more than to come into the office and design the latest client logo or program, her “fun” sometimes comes in different forms.
“Fun is highlighting benchmarks from the second quarter,” she joked.
Her nose isn’t imbedded in the books, though, as most of her day is still dominated by meeting with potential clients and working on marketing and planning strategies.
No matter what the day holds, though, it always relates to the fundamental duty she wanted before she turned 32.
“I’m just here running the business,” she said, with a laugh.
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